After Boehner, House Hard-Liners Aim to Weaken Speakership Itself

New York Times

October 10, 2015

WASHINGTON — As tension built in the House of Representatives in recent weeks, it sometimes was hard to know whom hard-line conservatives were gunning for more: President Barack Obama or their own Republican speaker, John Boehner.

As it turns out, their target is the institution of the speaker of the House itself.

To get to the broader goal of confronting Obama, they want to alter the fundamental power structure of the House by reducing the power of the speaker in favor of greater authority for the rank and file.

“I want to see a change in the culture of Washington, D.C.,” said Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a freshman from Georgia who’s a member of the Freedom Caucus that helped drive Boehner from office. “The way you do that is not who you elect, but it’s the process. It’s the procedures.

“How are we going to change the process, how are we going to make it a more bottom-up vs. a top-down structure?”

If they succeed, they’ll reverse a trend that began with Democrats in the 1970s but reached new heights with the Republican takeover of 1994.

The incoming speaker at that time, Newt Gingrich, centralized power in the leadership suites and moved it away from committee chairmen, requiring them to win the approval of the leadership team.

The conservatives’ demands, including a long list of proposed rules changes, are made clear in a revealing questionnaire they drew up for candidates seeking to replace Boehner.

The changes would include stripping the speaker of his outsize power over the Republican steering committee, which appoints the chairmen for all committees as well as for Appropriations subcommittees.

The changes would also reduce the leadership’s tight control over what bills and amendments reach the House floor.

“A principles-based rather than a power-based structure,” said Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, summing up the goal of the Freedom Caucus. “I know it sounds kind of wonky, but that’s actually what people tell me at home they are looking for.”